Conrad Gargett and John Wardle Architects, in joint venture, have been commissioned to design and deliver the Victorian Heart Hospital located at Monash University in Clayton, Melbourne.

The Victorian Health and Human Services Building Authority appointed the team as part of their aspiration to deliver Australia’s first heart hospital and landmark integrated cardiovascular centre of excellence, a partnership between the Victorian Government, Monash University, Monash Health, (through MonashHeart, the specialist cardiology service provider of Monash Health).

Rebecca Moore, Design Director – Health, stated, “Conrad Gargett | John Wardle Architects will be privileged to design and deliver Australia’s first dedicated heart hospital, the Victorian Heart Hospital. Through innovative design, this state-of-the-art environment has the potential to transform cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention by addressing MonashHeart’s four platforms and bringing the various occupants together in imaginative ways.”

Meaghan Dwyer, Project Director – Architecture, reinforced, “Focused on a robust design and delivery strategy, Conrad Gargett | John Wardle Architects will bring together best practice in healthcare design and an empathetic design approach. We will lead the highly experienced, skilled and creative team to deliver the Victorian Heart Hospital. We will apply experience, imagination and knowledge to design and deliver this ground-breaking facility.”

As part of the design process, and facilitated by the Victorian Health and Human Services Building Authority, Conrad Gargett | John Wardle Architects together with the client group and stakeholders engaged with renowned American architectural author Sarah Williams Goldhagen. Ms Williams Goldhagen holds a PhD in Art and Architectural History from Columbia University in the City of New York, and taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design for over a decade. Also a renowned architectural critic, she has authored critical essays and a number of books about the built environment and modern architecture. Ms Williams Goldhagen is the author of ‘Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives’, in which she presents significant research findings in cognitive psychology and neuroscience relating to well-being and the built environment.

Ms Williams Goldhagen highlighted the ways in which the environments we build profoundly shape our feelings, memories and well-being, and advocates that we must harness this knowledge to construct a world better suited to human experience. Drawing upon current scientific research on cognition to demonstrate the centrality of design to well-being, she explained how people experience built environments and how they shape our lives. Ms Moore stated, “Victorian Heart Hospital has an aspiration for a whole of person, patient-focussed, integrated cardiovascular centre. It was of great benefit to engage with Sarah Williams Goldhagen, as her work reinforces the importance of design at all levels, and how the built environment shapes and influences our lives and well-being. Our intention is to apply this shared aspiration in the delivery of the Victorian Heart Hospital. We invest in continuous research in healthcare design, and focus on delivering evidence-based innovative facilities that support cultural change, visionary design and innovative healthcare delivery.”

Ms Dwyer confirmed, “Our design approach will integrate and synthesise the input of urban designers, architects, interior designers and landscape architects as we engage with our client and stakeholder group at all levels. Ms Williams Goldhagen’s work gives us the context to understand how the aspects of the built environment interact to impact on our sensory perception and heighten the experience of built environments in positive ways. Conrad Gargett | John Wardle Architects is wholeheartedly dedicated to bring the aspirational and honourable Victorian Heart Hospital vision to life.”

The hospital will be at the centre of Melbourne’s population growth corridor. Construction of the Victorian Heart Hospital is due for completion in 2022.

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Sage Media Group is based in Australia, specialising in trade publications across both print and digital media. National Resources Review is the flagship masthead and Build Australia is the company’s second title.